The Guard
by 24annak
Summary: The mysterious ANBU operative, Fox, is legendary amongst the shinobi nations. She can do anything from complete an S-rank mission in ten minutes to running from Konoha to Kumo in a day. Now, she has a new mission coming at her. She has to travel outside the barrier, protect some kid, and make sure she doesn't get found out in the process. Femnaru. Rating might change.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So, this is my first attempt at a story. I have no idea how this will play out or how good it will be, but I've had this idea stuck in my head for months. I finally made an account on this site, and so now I can write stories for all my annoying ideas. Please review, tell me what you like and what you don't. If you have any suggestions, that will be greatly appreciated! Also, I need help coming up with pairings. I have some in mind, but I'm not sure how well I can integrate them into the story, so please give me your input. What pairing do you want to see? I suppose now you should just enjoy the story! Thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto

* * *

**Prologue**

Mysteries. Enigmas. Paradoxes. They scare people. One fears what one does not understand or know. It is a basic aspect of the human brain. If one cannot understand what is happening, they are frightened. That is how it works. That is how it always works.

This situation is no different. The stories are passed in hushes whispers through a small village sheltered by the vast forests surrounding it. Civilians' eyes widen in fear and admiration and Konoha ninjas look upon it with a new sense of pride and hope that they, themselves, can become as great.

The stories are of one person, a legend, some say. This person is said to be an ANBU of Konoha. They wear the mask of a blood red fox, and they fight ruthlessly. It is said that the ANBU, Fox, completes S-rank missions in a record time, and those missions are completed with efficiency. When Fox is ordered to leave no survivors, everyone dies within ten minutes. When ordered to clean up no traces are to be found within five minutes. Fox can run from Konoha to Kumo in a day with no stops and still have the energy to complete a mission with maximum efficiency. Fox is a legend to Konoha's civilians, a story to the citizens of other countries, and an idol to high ranking shinobi.

Fox is such a mystery, no one knows who the ANBU is beyond the mask. No one knows if Fox is a boy or girl, or what color hair he/she has. No one knows how tall Fox is or what eye color he/she has. Fox is simply a mystery behind a veil. There, but not really there. The only ones to really know who Fox is, is a certain late old man, a perverted author, and a woman, who looks younger than her actual age.

These three will soon be among many to have seen the famed ANBU.

* * *

**Chapter 1: S-Rank**

The old Team 7, the infamous team of terrible luck, was waiting for their old Sensei in the Hokage's office. The two members had become chunin, finally. First was Sasuke, then was Sakura, whom had became a chunin in the next exam that was held in Kiri.

Naru disappeared sometime after she came back from her three year training trip. Without a word or hint, she just disappeared. Konoha 9, or the rest of it, and Team 9, had asked Tsunade what had happened, but she refused to say a thing. Eventually Naru's friends gave up on trying to find an answer because the Hokage was not giving away any information, but she seemed unbothered, so they assumed that Naru must be okay. They all had at least tried to accept this, though it was difficult.

It has been two years. They are all 17 now, and the Hokage had requested Team 7, or now Team Kakashi, come for their next mission. Kakashi was late again, for he seemed to find joy in being late, even to mission briefs.

Tsunade sighed for the eighth time. It's been two hours, where is that good-for-nothing, stick-up-his-a-

POOF! Kakashi's entrance cut off Tsunade's thoughts.

"Sorry, Hokage-sama. I got lost on the road of li-"

"Cut the crap, Kakashi," the Hokage cut in. "You can't get lost on a narrow, one-way road. It doesn't happen." Kakashi sweat dropped. "Anyway, I got a mission request from a farmer in Wave. It seems they nee-"

An ANBU appeared, kneeling beside the Hokage's right, effectively cutting off Tsunade, which slightly annoyed her. A tick mark was forming on her forehead before she realized who she was looking at. "Fox."

The ANBU's code name startled the others in the room. Is this the legendary ANBU?

"Sorry, Hokage-sama. Mission success, no survivors. It was restored and Konoha's named cleared."

Tsunade remembered this mission. It was an S-rank, almost SS, but that was only if things went wrong. She ordered Fox to come directly to her office when the mission was completed no matter what. This mission was too important to put on hold.

The rest of the room's occupants looked on the ANBU with confusion. Was this really the one? Were they really looking at the person whom had all of the shinobi nations peeing their pants?

A weight was lifted off of Tsunade's shoulders. "Good jo-"

The sound of a knock at the door interrupted Tsunade for the third time. A tick mark fully formed on the impatient Hokage's forehead this time. "WHAT?" She shouted, making Team Kakashi flinch. The ANBU remained in her crouching position, unmoving.

"Ts-Tsunade-sama, there is someone here to see you," the voice of Shizune sounded from the other side of the door.

Tsunade put her head in her hands, "Tell them to go away. I'm busy."

But Shizune stayed. "Tsunade-sama, you really want to see this person." This piqued Tsunade's interest. She raised an eyebrow. "And they have come a long way," Shizune added, as if trying to convince the Kage.

"Bring him in." Team Kakashi stood, forgotten, to the left side of the room, and the ANBU remained kneeling beside the Hokage's desk.

The door opened, revealing a pale Shizune and a very old man wearing a sparkly dress and a matching pointed hat. His eyes were bright blue. He looked serious and amused at the same time.

Tsunade realized Team Kakashi was still standing there awaiting orders, and so she absentmindedly dismissed them. The ANBU, though, remained kneeling by the Hokage's side. "Fox, rise."

The ANBU did as commanded and rose. Fox stood behind the Hokage, alert and ready to defend her.

The old man realized this and continued in the room slowly as to not startle anyone, not that he could. "Hokage-sama," he said warmly. "My name is quite long, but I shall introduce myself as Albus Dumbledore. I have come to request a very important mission." The Hokage rose an eyebrow as to indicate that she was listening. "You see, I am from outside the shinobi nations-"

Tsunade stood from her chair in a second. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" she yelled, "There isn't supposed to be contact between us! Outsiders are to remain outside the barrier and we are to be left alone! That is the way it is; the way it's always been!"

Albus Dumbledore knew this was going to happen, but he was still taken aback by the force of the Hokage's words. "Hokage-sama, I am aware of the barrier, and I am aware that you want nothing to do with outsiders. But, I am willing to pay any amount, for money isn't an issue. This is especially because the mission I am requesting is very important for the fate of the world, and that shall also include the shinobi nations."

"Okay, you better start talking." Tsunade wanted to know what made this old lunatic want to come here. He didn't look too crazy, but you never know.

Albus bowed his head in acceptance. "I believe you are aware of the existence of magic, yes?" Tsunade nodded. "Well, Outside, magic users and non-magic users, or wizards and witches, and muggles, are separated. Muggles are not aware of the magic that surrounds their lives everyday. We have always been able to coexist in this way, but now, this is not possible. You see, a very powerful wizard has risen once again. We thought him dead in the past, but that seems to not be the case now. His name is Voldemort and he is threatening the magical and non-magical communities-"

"Wait what does this have to do with us shinobi?" Tsunade asked, slightly irritated. This guy just busts in her office, demands her help, and then says he's from the Outside. That's it. He is crazy, and now he is drying her patience quickly.

"Well, it's more than just Voldemort that we have to look out for now. It seems that somehow the barrier was punctured and someone from the shinobi nations made it through to our side. His name, Orochimaru."

"WHAT? Damn Orochimaru," the Hokage muttered. "Okay, so you have my full attention. Continue," she demanded.

Albus continued as told, "Orochimaru has teamed with Voldemort, and now I fear the safety of both the Outside and the Inside. We must stop them. I have reason to believe that both are first going to target my school, Hogwarts. The reason is because of one boy, Harry Potter. When he was a child, Voldemort attempted to kill him, but was not able to because the spell deflected, supposedly killing the Dark Lord himself. Now that he has risen again, he is going to try to kill the boy again, this time with help. Since we are not familiar with the ninja arts, I was hoping I could hire some of your ninja, or shinobi, to protect the boy and the school. Once the threat is no longer valid, we can unite to defeat them."

Tsunade, who had been listening intently, nodded. "Yes, it seems that is the case. Well, I have just the person for the mission." Albus raised his eyebrows, looking surprised.

"A single person? Hokage-sama, forgive me, but my school is quite large and the duty is also far too big for one person to carry. I-" Tsunade cut him off with her raised hand.

"Don't worry about that. Anyways, this person is definitely qualified for this mission," Tsunade stated with a smirk. "Fox."

With that said, the ANBU standing behind the Hokage disappeared and reappeared beside the old man, kneeling. This surprised Albus further.

"Hokage-sama."

"Take your mission scroll for details. This will be an S-rank mission. You are to leave tonight. Dumbledore-san, do you have any specific orders."

Albus thought the situation over a bit before stating, "I do believe that if this guard mission will work, then the guard must go undercover as a student."

"Yes, that's true," Tsunade agreed. "Well then Fox, you will go undercover as a student, therefore you will have to be unmasked. Dumbledore-san, I must tell you that her identity is an S-class secret. In other words, if you reveal her identity to anyone, you will be executed."

Albus was taken aback, but replied nonetheless, "Of course, Tsunade-sama. Her identity will die with me."

Tsunade gave the old man a genuine smile, "Good. Fox, remove your mask."

A short "Hai" was said before the ANBU stood and removed her mask. She was about 5'5". Her skin, although not seeing the sun for years, was evenly tanned. Her hair was silky and blonde, and it was pulled back in a french braid that reached the small of her back. The ANBU operative's eyes were a bright blue, but unlike the old man's, they were dead and void of emotion. This startled Albus. Why would such a young face have such emotionless eyes?

Tsunade smirked once more. This will be interesting, very interesting, she thought.

That evening, Albus Dumbledore and, the now dubbed, Naru, made their way to main gate of Konoha. Their destination was the Outside. Dumbledore planned to get out through way of apparition. Since there are several tears in the barrier, they should be able to use the simple method.

Dumbledore held his arm to the girl beside him. She was now wearing civilian clothes, for she would stand out too much wearing her usual ANBU uniform. Instead of ninja shoes, she had black chucks. She was wearing a light blue camisole with black, full-length leggings. On top, the ANBU wore a black zip-up hoodie to hide her tattoo. Her hair was tied up in a loose ponytail, letting strands fall to the side loosely.

Naru didn't understand why Dumbledore wanted her to take his arm. She didn't even know how they were supposed to exit the barrier. All she knew was that she hasn't touched a single person for years without the intent to kill and viceversa. She stared at Dumbledore's arm for a second longer before taking it reluctantly. Instantly, they swirled out of the shinobi nations.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So I originally wanted to make this chaplain contain all of Naru's first meetings with different characters and show her relationship with each character. But, due to some really tragic and just plain terrible news I heard just this morning, I won't have the time to finish the chapter the way I wanted, so I'll just add it in the next chapter. I'm sorry for the wait, a lot has been happening lately, and i promise this isn't an excuse. I'm going on vacation tomorrow and so whilst on vacation, I'll continue the story and update whenever I can. Sorry for the typos, I'll go back and edit as soon as I can, but for now, I'm focusing on continuing the story. Thank you for reading and enjoy! **

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto

**Chapter 2: First Day**

Naru decided that she hated apparating. The feeling of being compressed was something she never wanted to experience again. But her many years of ninja training allowed her the strength to not puke her guts out onto the street they appeared on.

She let go of Dumbledore's arm and stood straight, not wanting to show that the way of travel affected in any way. Looking around her, she noticed that they weren't on a street, but in a narrow 's eyes twinkled, making the wizened man look mildly amused, as if he knew something no one else did. "Let us make our way to the castle, shall we?" He started walking towards to mouth of the alley, Naru following close behind.

The blonde noticed that the street wasn't that busy, but even with the few people passing by, no one seemed to notice the two. It was even odder because Dumbledore was still dressed in what looked like a nightgown to Naru. His hat wasn't very subtle either.

Sensing the blonde's curious gaze, Dumbledore answered the silent question, "I had casted a concealing charm when we arrived," his eyes seemed to twinkle even more. "But come along now. I want to show you around, for you must know your surrounding in order to guard effectively." Naru merely nodded and followed Dumbledore through a door labelled 'The Leaky Cauldron'.

They walked to the back of the bar and entered a small room with a brick wall. Dumbledore tapped on seemingly random bricks with his wand. When he tapped on the fifth brick, the bricks began to move. They moved towards the corner until Dumbledore and Naru were facing a narrow, winding road packed with people and stores.

Dumbledore pointe out several stores, saying how at the beginning of every year, young witches and wizards would come here to buy their books, cauldrons, etc. Naru noted how the pictures on the books and newspapers moved. How odd, she thought to herself.

They continued their tour on the cobblestone road until they reached Ollivander's. The two walked into the old store, which confused Naru.

"Although you are not a witch, you have chakra," Dumbledore began. "I have studies the nature of your chakra, and I compared it to the nature of our magic. The two are very different, yes, for chakra is far more destructive and is usually used for fighting. Magic, on the other hand, is used more as a crutch for everyday life and does not always have to be used as a weapon. Despite the obvious differences, the two are similar. I believe that if you channel your chakra into your wand, you might be able to use the wand for spells, but I do not know if this will work."

Naru just nodded her head slowly. "I guess we will see."

The stacks of wands covered in spider webs and dust were in the back of the store. From what seemed to be the far back, a cough sounded. Then, footsteps were heard along with the sound of many things falling. A second later, an old, frail looking man appeared from behind the stacks.

"Ah, Dumbledore! I was not expecting a visit. Did you break your wand? No worries! There is probably a wand here for you, although the wand I gave you was so powerful and so delicate. It was one of a kind..." Ollivander continued to mumble. He then looked up at Naru, "Oh, and who might you be, dear?"

Dumbledore gave a light chuckle, "I did not break my wand, but Naru, here, would like to purchase one."

Ollivander have a good look at Naru. "I remember every face that enters my store and every wand I sold, but I do not believe you have ever been here. Tell me, are you a first year?"

Naru shook her head and smoothly answered, "No, I am a foreign exchange student. I purchased my wand back home, but it broke right before I travelled here. I was hoping you could find another for me."

Ollivander's eyes brightened. "Why of course I could!" He took a box from the shelf behind him, "Here, try this one. 9 inches, ebony, unicorn hair."

Taking the wand out of the box, he gave it to Naru. Naru wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, so she just stood there with the wand looking at the wand maker in front of her. He gestured for her to give a wave, and so Naru channeled her chakra into the wand and waved it.

The first wall of shelves in the back of the room exploded. All three occupants jumped at the sound. Ollivander quickly snatched the wand from Naru's hand. "No, no!" he frantically yelled.

He then disappeared into the back of the room behind the exploded wall of wands. He came back a few minutes later holding another wand box. He took the wand out and started to give it to the blonde, "11 inches, elm, phoenix feather." Before Naru could even touch the wand, he took it back quickly and put it in the box. "Nope! Definitely not!"

Ollivander stood, thinking for a few moments. He then brightened and ran to the back. When he came back to the front, the wand maker was holding a worn, dark red box. "Try this one," he said, handing her the wand. "9 inches, oak, thestrals tail hair."

Naru waved the wand, channeling her chakra, and it exploded. This saddened the old wandmaker.

"What a waste of a good wand."

He went to the back again, the sounds of boxes hitting the floor were plentiful. Finally, a many minutes of rummaging, Ollivander returned to the front. He held a very old-looking box. It was covered in dust, and the box was worn. "This is 12 inches, cypress, dragon heartstring," said the wand maker as he took the wand out of the box. He slowly gave it to Naru, whom took the wand carefully.

As she channeled her chakra in the wand, she felt a warm feeling spread through her, as if now she is free to be lighter. "Ah, that is an interesting wand," Ollivander began, catching Naru's attention. "You see, the wood is from a cypress tree. It was just an ordinary cypress tree, though it was suffering. It lived in an area that was completely void of life, but even so, there was the tree, holding as strong as it could. The tree then suddenly came to life as I stood there. The wands I make with this tree's wood are only to those who are able to transform."

Naru widened her eyes, "What do you mean?" She was suddenly scared that the old man would figure out or already knew her secret.

Ollivander just gave the girl a knowing look, "Interpret it as you want." With that said, he left the room, disappearing into the endless rows of wands.

After the odd encounter with Ollivander, Naru and Dumbledore continued making their way to Hogwarts. Dumbledore pointed out different stores and bars as they walked, and Naru just nodded her head, making sure to make a mental map of everything.

They finally arrived at the castle, and what a grand castle it was. Naru only noticed this in passing, though. She did not really care about what it looked like, only the dangers it had. She wanted to know every nook and crany this castle had. She wanted to know where the secret passages and rooms were, where every classroom and dormitory was located, and everything else. The only problem was that Dumbledore had stated earlier that it would take far too long to take a tour of the castle, but he promised to give her a map once they arrived to his office.

Naru noted that the staircases moved. This will be an inconvenience, she concluded to herself. What else is there? A room that can change it contents?

After going up many stairs and ignoring many paintings, the two found themselves standing in front of two, large gargoyle statues.

Dumbledore simply said the word "Red Vines" and the statues moved, revealing a staircase. The wizard and the konoichi walked onto the staircase and it rose up to the second floor.

"Ah, here we are," Dumbledore said as he opened the door. Naru followed inside the large room. Toys were moving, there was a bowl of candies, and there were many large portraits of people, whom Naru assumed were past headmasters.

Dumblerdore made his way to his desk, which was at the far end of the room. Beside the desk sat a curious bird. His feathers were deep red and orange, and it looked like the bird was on fire. Naru stared at the magnificent animal until it actually caught fire.

The blonde stared, shocked. "Wha-"

Dumbledore chuckled lightly, "Don't worry. Fawkes is a phoenix. Once he is has lived his life, he dies by catching fire, only to be reborn from his ashes. Come, see." Naru walked closer to where the bird just died. She could see the pile of its ashes, but then it started to move.

Curious, she leaned closer just as a tiny head popped from underneath the ashes. Naru couldn't help but feel happy at that moment for the phoenix. What a truly magnificent creature, she thought.

"Now, onto business." Dumbledore then gave her the map he promised to give her, and then continued to tell her about the situation with Voldemort. He informed her about the Order, also mentioning how the people in the Order know who she is, so they will help keep her secret as the school year progresses.

Finally, Dumbledore told Naru about her charge, Harry Potter. "This boy is the one you will keep an eye on as you guard the school. Make sure that he stays away from trouble and that you keep him away from harm. Recently, he was almost expelled from Hogwarts for using a spell in front of a muggle. He will be up in front of the Wizengamot soon, and I must be there to defend him. In that time that I'm away, please feel free to explore the castle, and learn as much as you can before the students arrive in a few weeks."

Naru nodding as she absorbed the information. "Okay," she said, ready to learn as much as she could in the amount of time that she had.

The next few weeks were filled with tons of reading, exploring, and training. Naru had read about three quarters of the library. It helped that her memory was incredible, allowing her to skim pages and still understand everything she read.

Whilst exploring, Naru was able to match the places in the castle to the map provided, also making sure that there weren't any secret passages that the map did not tell her about.

When she wasn't learning, she was training. The blonde ninja knew that is she were to be guarding this castle from the dangers of Voldemort and Orochimaru, then she had to be in prime condition.

Finally, the day a Naru had been waiting for came. Today, the halls would be filled with kids running around and talking loudly. Today was also the day when Naru had to go back to London to catch the Hogwarts Express. If she was going to act like a normal student, then she had to be like one.

Naru walked to Hogsmeade with her trunk and train ticket and then shunshined to King's Cross Station. Once she took a cart and put her trunk on it, she made her way to Platform 9 3/4. Stealthily walking through the wall Dumbledore mentioned, the ninja blended in with the crowd of witches and wizards.

Not wanting to associate herself with anyone, she hopped onto the Hogwarts Express early and made her way to the farest back train compartment. Naru put her trunk above her on the small ledge and then sat down on the seat.

The silence was heavy on her. Naru couldn't remember a day in her life when she was able to sit still in silence, not waiting for someone to kill her or for her to kill someone. Naru felt calm and unthreatened.

No, she thought. I cannot let my guard down. Anything can happen, especially when I'm not expecting it.

With that thought in mind, Naru sat straighter in her seat and kept her senses on alert. A few minutes later, she could hear people getting on the train. She listened to people gossiping with their friends and saving seats for others. She listened to the carefree way everyone spoke, and the way they acted as if they had no worries.

Naru then heard someone's footsteps gradually get closer to her compartment until they stopped right outside. The door slid open, and the blonde looked up to see a black haired guy with a scar on his forehead. He looked a bit annoyed. Harry Potter, she confirmed to herself.

He looked at her uneasily and then asked, "Can I sit here?" Naru simply nodded, and so Harry took the seat in front of her. He studied her for a few seconds before asking, "Are you a first year?"

"No, I am an exchange student. I'm in fifth year," she replied. Harry said a small "oh" before looking out the window, indicating that he was finished talking. Naru accepted the silence and looked out the window as well.

A few minutes later, the door slid open again. A boy holding a plant stood there with a girl who looked slightly dazed and an other with ginger hair. "Do you mind if we sit here?" the boy asked. Harry shook his head and then greeted the new arrivals.

"Hey Neville, Luna, Ginny." Naru took note of their names and who they were. She then focused her attention on the window again.

"Hello," the dazed girl, Luna, said to Harry and Naru.

Neville and Ginny then greeted Harry and Naru. "Are you new?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, I'm an exchange student," the blonde answered curtly. Ginny nodded, though a bit confused. Have there ever been exchange students?

The rest of the ride consisted of Neville talking about his plant. He then happily showed the group its defence mechanism, spraying them all with smelly goo. "Oops!" he said, embarrassed.

At that moment, the door slid open. A girl of Asian decent stood, obviously disgusted by the smelly substance that covered everyone in the cabin. She then said, "Hey, Harry."

Harry looked up absolutely mortified. "Oh, hey, Cho."

Cho smiled at him before saying, "I just wanted to stop by and say hi. I'm going to go now. Bye, Harry!" She slid the door closed an quickly walked away.

Harry groaned and began trying to rub the stuff off of him. Naru didn't even try, she knew that she would just have to wait until they got to the castle to wash up, but the smell was way too overwhelming, especially with her sensitive nose.

Thankfully Ginny then casted a charm, and all the goo disappeared. "Thank you, Ginny," Neville said sheepishly. Ginny only smiled.

The door slid open again, revealing two people already in their robes. One was a girl with slightly frizzy hair, and the other was a ginger haired boy. Naru made a brief connection between him and Ginny. Were they related?

Naru then found out that the girl was Hermione and the boy was Ron. Ron was, in fact, the older brother of Ginny.

Once they arrived to the castle, everyone exited the train. Naru made sure to blend in with the crowd whilst keeping an eye on Harry.

The large crowd of students began making their way to the carriages that were being pulled by thestrals, something she encountered sometime over the summer when exploring the Forbidden Forest. In her studies she found that you can only see thestrals if you have seen death.

Naru noticed that Harry was staring at the death horses as well. I guess that must be because of his friend, Cedric, the blonde thought.

She followed Harry and his friends onto one of the carriages, sitting next to Luna, whom was reading an upside down magazine. They both noticed Harry pointing out the thestrals to Hermione and Ron. "What are those horse things," he stated, very confused.

Hermione looked at Harry oddly. "What are you talking about, Harry? What horse thing?"

"They are right in front of you! The ones that are pulling the carriages! Look!" Harry continued to stare at the skeletal horse in front of him.

"What am I suppose to be looking at, mate?" Ron asked, absolutely perplexed. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Don't worry, Harry, I see them, too. You're only as sane as I am," Luna said from on the carriage. For some reason, Naru knew that this didn't make Harry feel any better.

Harry and his friends got onto the carriage, and they made their way to the castle.

"Did anyone else see that Hagrid wasn't here?" Ginny asked everyone on the carriage. "What is that Grubbly-Plank woman doing here? Hagrid didn't leave, did he?"

"Well, he wasn't a very good teacher. In fact, I'd be quite glad if he did leave," Luna said from her spot.

"Hagrid is a great teacher!" chorused Harry, Ron, and Ginny. They all looked to Hermione who didn't say anything.

"Oh, yes... Hagrid is... very good."

The rest of the ride was made in angry silence from Harry, Ron, and Ginny. Naru simply sat there looking towards the castle. In a few minutes, the carriages stopped.

They all entered Hogwarts and headed towards the Great Hall, where they all split into their different houses. Naru just made her way to the staff table like Dumbledore instructed her to do a few days ago.

Everyone began to settle, and the doors opened once more. A tough looking woman, Professor McGonagall, was holding an old hat and a stool. Behind her, there was a line of kids. They all looked to be about eleven years of age.

First years, Naru thought.

Professor McGonagall put the stool down in front of the staff table and plopped the hat on top. A few seconds later, the hat began to sing. It sang of the four houses and what they meant and then gave a warning. He told the school that danger is approaching, but we all must stick together and stay strong.

The students were at first speechless, but then they began to clap, forgetting about the eerie ending.

The first years were then sorted. When the last was sorted into Slytherin, Dumbledore stood to make a speech.

"Settle down, settle down. The sorting is yet to be finished. We have one more person to sort. Hogwarts has graciously accepted its first foreign exchange student." At this statement, many confused looks were given. "I am aware that this usually does not happen, but we are going to welcome our newcomer with open arms. Let us begin her sorting." He gestured for Naru, who stood next to the staff table, to sit on the stool.

The blonde walked steadily towards the hat, not liking how it could enter her mind. She sat on the stool and put the sorting hat on her head. All eyes were on her, curious as to what house she will get sorted in.

"Hm, interesting, very interesting," the hat said in her mind. "You seem to not be what Dumbledore had said you are but are instead a ninja?" Naru tensed. "Hm, you are very intelligent, like Ravenclaw and brave, like Gryffindor, but you are also cunning, like Slythern. I sense you were once as kind as Hufflepuff, but something has changed. Hm, this will be difficult. You will grow very nicely in Slytherin or Ravenclaw-"

She gave an annoyed look. "Look," she said to the hat in her mind. "I've got a duty to guard some kid so you're going to sort me in Gryffindor."

The hat didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Okay, if you insist," it began. Out loud, the hat announced, "Gryffindor!" The Gryffindor table erupted in cheers as Naru walked towards it. People were shaking her hands and slapping her on the back, making her very tense and on guard.

The blonde found herself sitting in between two boys who looked exactly alike. The boy on her right first introduced himself. "I'm Fred, that's George-"

"No, I'm Fred, he's George!" the other cut in. The twin on her right seemed to accept this.

"Alright, I'm George, he's Fred."

Naru sighed mentally. "Are you sure?" she asked in a level voice, slightly amused but not showing it.

Lefty smiled and leaned in, "Not really," he said. Both began laughing, and Naru had a brief sense of nostalgia.

I remember when I was like that, she thought to herself. So light and carefree.

Naru continued to ignore the two and reached for her cup. The twins' laughs began to quiet down as she took the cup in her hand. Naru raised it to her mouth, noticing how their eyes followed her motion. Before she took a sip, she smelled the substance inside. Instead of pumpkin juice, which was what was originally inside her cup, something that smelled of dirty socks occupied the cup.

Naru put the cup down without taking a sip. The twins looked confused because of this. "If you're going to prank me, make it less noticeable."

Their eyes widened. "How did you-"

"Like I said, it was too noticeable. Nice try, though."

The twins looked at each other and smiled. This year will be so much fun.

Once dinner was over, Dumbledore stood to say his final departing speech. "Well, now that we all have finished yet another splendid feast, I want to say a few words before the usual start-of-term notices. For all first years, please note that the forest is forbidden. The caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me for the four hundred and sixty-second time to remind you all that there is to be no magic in the corridors between classes. This among other things can be checked on the list that is now on Mr. Filch' office door.

"Now, I ask that you welcome our new staff this year. Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be teaching Care of Magical Creatures, and Professor Umbridge, who will be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"Finally, tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will-"

"_Hem, hem_."

The silence in the Great Hall was heavy as all eyes turned towards the person who interrupted Dumbledore's speech, for this has never happened before. _Never_. Even Dumbledore looked taken aback, but only for a moment before he sat down to let Professor Umbridge speak.

Professor McGonagall's mouth was a straight line, and all the other teachers either looked bored, annoyed, or outraged.

Throughout Umbridge's speech, the students were talking amongst themselves, not paying attention to her horribly sugary, high-pitched voice.

Naru knew that Fudge was scared of Dumbledore, but this was too far. Installing a complete incompetent puppet in the school will both stunting the students' learning and annoy the hell out of her. Just looking at the pink toad was just insulting to her summons.

Once she finished her speech, silence flooded the Great Hall. Dumbledore began clapping and soon a few students began clapping very slowly. The headmaster stood once more to dismiss the students.

"Thank you, Professor Umbridge for that very... enlightening speech. Now," Dumbledore said, clapping his hands together with renewed gusto, "off to bed!"

Everyone stood and began talking to their friends about the pink abomination. Hermione and Ron had to go ahead to lead the first years to the Gryffindor common room.

Naru stood and so did the twins beside her. "Trying to leave us already?" Righty asked.

"That's not very nice," Lefty then said. They stood on either side of the blonde, putting their arms around her shoulders. Tensing, Naru didn't know what to do. Her first instinct was to pin them both to the floor whilst holding a kunai to their throats, but she knew that that would be doing the opposite of what she is getting payed to do, which was protecting the students.

The twins were oblivious to the thoughts swarming Naru's mind. "So, we never really heard-" began Lefty.

"-from where it was you were exchanged from," finished Righty.

"Japan."

Righty took a lock of the blonde's hair. "But, you don't look Japanese."

"Are you sure?" Lefty asked leaning in to get a better look at her bright blue eyes. "Don't Japanese usually have dark hair and eyes?"

"Mhm." Naru wasn't especially comfortable with how long the twins have been hanging around her. She was in desperate need of curling up in a bed by herself to calm down.

"Hey, are you okay?" they asked in unison. They seemed genuinely concerned for her health since she was paling quickly and seemed very tense.

Naru coughed and replied, "Yeah, fine. I'm going to go to bed." She ran from under their arms and quickly walked to the Fat Lady painting, reciting the password, and ascended the stairs to the girls' dormitory, leaving two very confused twins.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, but I am now finally back from vacation! My computer isn't working that well right now so I'm uploading this from an ipad. I have no clue how that will work but I'm pretty sure the format got messed up and there will be many typos and stuff like that, oops. I'll go back and edit eventually. Erm, this is pretty much a bunch of stuff that starts from the beginning of the book and ends about halfway. Yep, there's a lot of fun stuff I hope. Please please tell me what you think and if I went OOC, tell me as well because I felt as if I did but wasn't sure. Enjoy the story and please review! I want to make this as good as I can for a first shot! Thank you!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto

**Chapter 3: The Pink Toad**

The next morning, term started. All the girls in Naru's room opened their eyes groggily and slowly began getting dressed. Naru, not wanting to leave Hermione behind because she needed to stick with her in order to be near Harry Potter, faked being tired.

She sat up and stood from her bed slowly, getting dressed only when Hermione began to put her uniform on. When Hermione finished, she grabbed her stuff and turned to Naru.

"Do you need help getting around?" Hermione asked with genuine curiousity. Naru was surprised, not expecting her job to be so easy.

She nodded her head. "Yeah, thanks."

Hermione smiled brightly. "Great!" she said with much enthusiasm. "Let's go down to the Great Hall for breakfast. After that we go to out first class!"

"Okay."

"Oh, and we will meet Harry and Ron in the Great Hall," she smiled at Naru and the. Continued speaking rapidly. "Oh, how I hope you didn't sign up for Divination!"

"I think I might have, why?"

"Well, Harry and Ron are in that class! I am sorry in advance for what you will experience. I believe that Professor Trelawney is a fraud. Everything is fake! I don't understand why they even have that class in the curriculum because it certainly is a bunch of meaningless activities!" Hermione rambled on and on, venting out her thoughts on the class until they reached the Great Hall.

Hm, Naru thought. So it seems Hermione has some sort of a grudge against that class.

"And here we are! I'm sure you remember the Great Hall from yesterday, yes?" Naru nodded in confirmation. "Good! Now let's eat! Harry and Ron should be here shortly."

Hermione grabbed Naru's hand and dragged her in the Hall. Once they sat down, Hermione grabbed an apple and pulled out a book from her bag.

Naru looked at the array of food. She made sure to mentally scan everything for poisoning or any other ways of tampering with the food. She deemed it clean and safe to eat. Finally deciding on what to eat, she followed Hermione's example and grabbed an apple.

A few minutes later, Naru spotted bright red hair.

Ron? she thought to herself.

Instead of the lanky ginger she was expecting, a pair of ginger twins came sauntering in. Once Fred and George spotted Naru, they started grinning and began making their way to her.

"Good-"

"- morning!"

The twins sat across from Naru and Hermione. "We're going to start testing our new products!" Fred declared.

"You should be one of our testers, Naru!" George then added.

"No, thank you," Naru stated calmly. She needed to keep a clear head and focus on her duty. That is why she was here: her mission.

"Aw come on!" George whined.

Fred soon joined, "Yeah, please?"

"Please?"

"Pretty, pretty please?"

"It will be fun!"

"Well, for us anyway!"

Hermione then cut in, "If she doesn't want to do it, she doesn't have to. Frankly, I don't blame her for not wanting to. Who knows what kind of odd and, might I add, damaging things you two have made!"

"Well that's for us to know-" began Fred.

"- and you to find out!" George finished with a mischievous grin.

The twins then began loading their plates with various types of food. Not too long after, Naru saw Harry and Ron enter the Great Hall.

Finally, she thought.

"Morning," Harry and Ron said whilst sitting next to Hermione.

A chorus of 'Good morning' was heard from the twins and Hermione in response.

"Lousy morning more like it," Ron said in a sullen tone.

Confused, Hermione asked, "And why is that, Ron?"

"Did you forget? Or should I remind you of the pink road."Hermione looked up as the two made their way to the table.

"What's the matter, Harry? You look really angry," Hermione asked with concern.

Instead, Ron replied, "Seamus reckons Harry's lying about You-Know-Who."

Hermione nodded and sighed, telling them that Lavender thought the same.

"Bet you've been having a nice chat about whether or not I'm an attention-seeking pr-"

"I told her to quit talking about you with her big fat mouth, actually," Hermione intervened. "And I would really appreciate it if you would stop jumping at our throats, Harry, because it's quite annoying when we are trying to defend you."

Naru noticed how the tension between the three friends subsided. Hm, she pondered to herself. Despite the tension, they are all still close.

"Anyway, " Harry began, "Dumbledore didn't mention how long Grubbly-Plank is staying, did he?" He grabbed a piece of toast and added it to his slowly growing plate of breakfast foods.

"Maybe... well, maybe he didn't want to draw attention to the subject any more than he already had. Maybe-" she cut off as she spotted a tall girl marching up to Harry.

"Hi, good summer? Listen, I've been made Gryffindor Captain," she said quite fast.

"Nice one, Angelina," Harry replied with a smile.

Right, Harry plays Quiddich, Naru remembered.

"Yeah, well we need a new Keeper since Oliver Wood graduated last year. Tryouts are on Friday at five o'clock and I want the whole team there, got that?"

"Alright," he said.

"We'll find a new guy to replace him then," Angelina said with finality. Harry nodded, watching her leave.

All of a sudden a whoosh was heard, and hundreds of owls began flying above the strudents' heads, dropping things left and right. Naru vaguely remembered being told about how the owls serve as messengers and would drop off letters, etc. to the wizards and witches of the Outside.

She also noticed how many people, including Hermione, received copies of the popular newspaper, The Daily Prophet. That's the newspaper that has a bunch of lies about Harry and Dumbledore.

Harry got mad at Hermione for having the paper, but she merely shrugged and said that it's good to have insight in what the other side is saying about you.

Harry seemed to cool down enough to notice Proffesor McGonagall hanging out the new schedules.

She reached their side and gave everyone a schedule. As Ron read his, he got more and more depressed. "Look at this!" he exclaimed. "History of Magic, double Potions, Divination, and double Defense against the Dark Arts!"

"Binns, Snape, Trelawney, and Umbridge," Harry continued with disgust.

"Fred and Geroge better give me one of those Skiving Snackboxes," sad Ron in despair.

After a small argument with the twins themselves, a small conversation filled with tears because of the O.W.L.S, and an insight on what everyone is planning to do with their lives, they all upped and headed to class.

All through History of Magic, Naru kept a careful eye in her client. When they started playing some sort of game on their paper, Naru made sure that it wasn't anything harmful. It was a bit hard for her to concentrate on them, though, because of the teacher himself.

Naru was no longer afraid of ghosts, she had gotten over that phobia years ago after realizing it was dumb and slowed her down in missions where she had to go to old, creaky places that were said to have been charged with supernatural energy.

So, she wasn't afraid, but Proffessor Binns was so annoying and was honestly a terrible teacher. Naru briefly remembered her old teachers back at the academy. Before Iruka, all her teachers were shitty and taught her nothing, just like this Binns guy. No one is even listening to the man speak.

The lesson finally ended and Naru followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione out if the room. They all walked outside to the courtyard, a small drizzle dampening the grass and walkways. Just as they were about to turn a corner, someone met them. It was Cho from the train.

Harry then embarrassed himself in front of her as per usual. Naru took note of his nervousness, already knowing he liked this girl, but then thought about a certain red headed ginger in fourth year.

These people have to much irrelevant drama, thought Naru.

They finally arrived to the dungeons to start their next lesson: Potions. Naru heard a lot about the teacher, Snape. He's biased, snotty, and has it out for anyone who isn't Slytherin according to Harry and Ron. Though when they said that, Hermione just rolled her eyes.

Naru also saw him in the Great Hall after they pointed him out to her. He had long, greasy, black hair and a long, hooked nose. He looked down at everyone except Dumbledore, which was acceptable since Dumbledore is of higher importance and status. Never disrespect those above you was something drilled inside Naru's head.

It was instantly cold when they entered. Naru glanced around the room and decided to sit next to Hermione at a table in the front row next to the Neville boy from the train.

"Settle down," a cold, drawn-out voice said from the front of the class, which was really unnecessary because once he entered, silence rang through the room.

The indifferent teacher began speaking once more, "Before we begin our lesson for today, I want you all to remember that in June you will all be taking a very important exam. I expect you all to get at least an Acceptable. Though many of you are idiots, this is the expectation." Naru raised her eyebrows internally at this. Snape doesn't hold back, does he?

"Today we will be mixing the Draugh of Peace. This is a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation, but be warned: if you are tok heavy-handed with the ingredients, the drinker might fall into a deep and, sometimes, irreversible sleep. Pay attention to what you are doing." This made some students sit straighter in their seats. "The ingredients are on the board," he said whilst flicking his want at the black board situated behind him. "You will find all that you need in the cupboards there. You have one hour and thirty minutes... begin."

Naru noticed how difficult this potion was, which wasn't very helpful since it's also her first potion. But with her training as a ninja, her ability of being precise and her attentiveness came in handy. With Hermione helping her every now and then, the two did very well. Their final results were put in corked flagons and set on Snape's desk.

Once everyone set their flagon on his desk, they all set off for lunch. Once at the Great Hall, Naru noticed that the ceiling was even grayer than in the morning. The trio of friends began discussing what happened in their class. Harry complained about Snape's reaction to his cauldron when Ron's smelled and looked even more terrible.

Naru wasn't really paying attention until they mentioned that Snape used to be a Death Eater. Her eyes widened a centimeter, and she sat still whilst listening intently without looking it.

"Where's the evidence Snape ever stopped working for You-Know-Who?" Ron asked in all seriousness.

Hermione snapped back an annoyed reply, "Oh shut it, the both of you! I bet Dumbledore's got plenty of evidence that doesn't need to be shared with you."

So that confirms it, Naru thought. Snap was most definitely a Death Eater and was serving Voldemort. Why was this never mentioned to me? Dumbledore should have told me about anyone with a background of relation to our enemy.

Although her client withheld information from her, Naru knew that her mission had to be completed one way or another even if she was blind.

After lunch, Naru followed Harry and Ron to Divination. Harry and Ron kept ranting to her about how much they hated the class. It was not only stupid, but the teacher was completely mental.

She confirmed these words when she entered the classroom. Professor Trelawney had bug eyes because of her giant glasses and her tiny, frail body was draped in layers of shawls and beads. The room had a sickening smell to it because of all the candles and incenses she had.

The class slowly began to make their way to the tables located at random locations in the room. Naru sat with Harry and Ron at a table in the middle. It would have been an amusing class if Naru had really cared about what was going on. Trelawney kept predicting Harry's premature death and Naru's nearby suffering.

Their next class was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Naru had been waiting for this class all day. Dolores Umbridge will be teaching it and that woman had been on Naru's danger radar ever since she laid eyes on her. Naru knew that pink, sad excuse for a toad had bad intentions. She not here just for the hell of it. Someone intended for Umbridge to be at Hogwarts, take note of the way it runs, and possibly how to over take it. Nonetheless, Naru hated Umbridge.

As expected, Defense Against the Dark Arts was terrible. They learned that not only is Umbridge as sugary and fake as they all thought, she also expected them to never use spells in class. Of course Harry and his mouth can't shut it's self up when needed.

"And what good's theory going to be in the real world?" Harry asked as he stood up outraged.

Umbridge smiled at him sweetly before replying, "Let me tell you, Mr. Potter, there is nothing waiting for you out in the real world."

"Oh yeah?" Harry challenged.

"Please, do tell if you have an idea of could attack children as yourselves."

"Hm, I don't know," he began very sarcatically. "Maybe... Lord Voldemort?" People gasped and one boy, Neville, fell out of his chair.

"Ten points from Gryffindor," Umbridge began. "Now let me make a few things clearer. You have been told of a certain Dark Lord's return from the dead. This is a l-"

"It's the truth!" Harry cut in, yelling as if trying to convince everyone. "I was there! I fought him and he killed Ce-

Umbridge smiled triumphantly at Harry, setting off alarms in Naru's head. "Detention, Mr. Potter. Tomorrow evening at five o'clock. Now please come and take this to Professor McGonagall," she cut a piece of pink parchment and wrote something down on it before handing it to Harry. She then began once more. "What Mr. Potter so rudely shouted is a lie. The Ministry has made it clear and guarantees that you need not worry because there is nothing out there fear. The Dark Lord has not risen once again and Cedric died from an unfortunate accident. This is the truth. This is what you all must believe because it is the only truth." Silence rang through the room. Many students were relieved, others confused. Naru knew that she couldn't leave Harry by himself in a detention with her because she wouldn't be doing her duty right. She did the only thing she could do in a situation like this.

She gave Umbridge a piece of her mind.

Before Harry fully exited the classroom, Naru stood up, gaining the attention of everyone in the class, including Umbridge. "I believe that Harry is right. How do you know that You-Know-Who isn't alive? You don't. Yes, the only proof of him being alive is Harry, but that is something, isn't it? I mean, why would Harry make something like that up, anyways? It's so random and dumb that if it weren't true, I wouldn't even know how Harry could come up with such a stupid idea. The only thing that makes sense is that he is telling the truth. Believe what you want, but I think it's true. How else would you explain Cedric's death? I wasn't even at this school when this happened, but from what I've heard, nothing except Voldemort's return would explain it. I think that not only has Voldemort returned, but," Naru paused to make it more intense, enjoying the look of anger on Umbridge's face, "The. Ministry of Magic is corrupt."

Naru smirked at Umbridge's red face. "What is your name, young lady."

"Well, Professor, you can call me Naru Uzumaki. That's N-A-R-U SPACE U-Z-U-M-A-K-I, incase you were wondering."

"Well, Ms. Uzumaki-"

"-Naru's fine," she cut in, enjoying herself a bit too much.

Umbridge glared at her. "Well, you can join Mr. Potter in detention tomorrow at five o'clock, andyou can also take this to Professor McGonagall."

"Wonderful," Naru quietly said to herself as she stood and followed Harry out. At Professor McGonagall's office they were both given cookie as a congratulations and then a warning.

I knew Umbridge was off, Naru pondered. I'm not the only one who thinks and knows this.

The next day, people were still talking about what transpired in the Defense Against the Darks Arts class. They whispered about what Harry did and then how the new kid stood up for him.

Naru could care less. The only reason she acted out of line was to stay in detention with Harry and make sure that Umbridge doesn't walk out of line.

Last night, Naru paid Dumbledore a visit in his office. She discussed what she did and why, and Dumbledore agreed with her tactics. He asked that she tell him what happens in the detention, but not to do anything if it's bad. Taking direct confrontation to the Ministry is basically suicide. They must first plan. And in order to plan, they need to know what the Ministry is planning and how they will get to their goal.

On her way back to the Common Room, Naru spotted a person walking stealthily through the corridors holding a blob that looked like a broom. Naru immediately went into guard mode, not that she wasn't already, and followed him through the castle.

Soon, she realized it wasn't just any person, it was Ron. And based on the way he is dressed, he is probably sneaking out to play that Quiddich game. She let him go, keeping a shadow clone to track and protect him, and then headed off to bed.

At breakfast, Naru saw the twins. She tried to sit further from them, but somehow she got smushed right inbetween them again.

"Why good morning, Naru!" Fred said in a happy and naturally mischievous voice.

"We heard about what happened yesterday-" Geroge began.

"-and while we knew that you are hard to prank, we didn't know that you are also hilarious!"

The two began laughing so hard that they had to clutch their stomachs. "It was just... so funny to... hear how you dissed Umbridge!" Fred said between laughs. He noticed how Naru just looked at them impassively. "Aw, lighten up!" he said with no response.

"Laugh?" George asked with nothing done back.

"Smile?" Fred asked. Naru just stared at them and was about to continue eating when Fred reached for her face. Jerking away, his hand followed, trying to... do whatever it was he was trying to do.

Finally, Fred's hand latched onto her cheek. "What's with these whiskers anyways? Are they tattoos?" Naru shook her head, although it was difficult because Fred hand was squeezing her cheek.

"Can I stroke them?" George asked. Naru looked at him weirdly, never been asked such an odd question before.

"Um-" she started to shiver and felt an urge to start purring when they both started stroking her whisker marks. She managed to control herself, but she began blushing instead, which she didn't quite understand. That is until she realized where they were a jerked her head from their grasp.

"Oh wow, Naru. You really are something, " George said while putting an arm around her shoulder. "Which is why we wanted to ask you-"

"- if you have any background of pranking."

"Why?" Naru asked, confused.

George smirked and then said, "Because we would just love for you to help us on our next prank."

Naru raised her eyebrow, suspiciously glancing at both twins. They are surprisingly hard to read. "Maybe..." she said slowly.

Fred smirked knowingly.

After breakfast, the day proceeded slowly. The classes were boring and Naru kept an eye on Harry, who seemed to not be doing anything out of the ordinary. That night, the two made their way to Umbridge's office from the Gryffindor a Common Room at four fifty. Harry and Naru walked slowly, not really wanting to go, or at least Harry didn't want to go. Naru, although not liking Umbridge, wanted to get as much information from this trip about the Ministry as she can.

At five, they made it to her door. Naru stuck her hand out and knocked twice on the door. A couple sends later, the door was opened and... Pink.

The walls, floor, ceiling, pictures, desks, chairs, everything was pink. Naru even spotted pink pens and ink.

What is with her obsession with pink? she asked herself.

Umbridge gave them a sugar-sweet smile a they walked in. "Please, take a seat," she said whilst pointing to the two desks in front of her. On top of each desk, there was a piece of parchment and a feather pen.

Harry and Naru sat down in the two desks awaiting further instructions. Naru narrowed her eyes a centimeter at the smile on Umbridge's face.

"Now," she said whilst clapping her hands together. "I want you to write lines. You will write I must not tell lies, okay? Begin, begin," Umbridge said gleefully. Naru noticed the confused look on Harry's face and mirrored his look to herself.

What the fu-

"Um, what are we supposed to use as ink?" Harry asked.

Umbridge smiled and said, "You will not need ink, Mr. Potter. Please, begin."

Harry shrugged and began writing, flinching as he wrote the first letter. He glared at Umbridge, but continued writing without saying a word.

Naru did the same, but she wanted Umbridge to suffer from her own useless attempt at a torture device. Naru smirked and wrote her lines without allowing the cuts in her hand to heal. She wrote faster and faster until her hand blurred. She then decided to write along the sides while waiting for Harry to finish. When he finally did, they both went up to Umbridge with their parchment.

"Let me see your hands to see if the message has... sunk in," she said smugly, making Naru smirk.

Harry first showed his hand. The words were clearly defined, but no blood was spilled. "Hm," she pondered, "yes,mthe message did sink it for now. Now, Naru." As soon as she picked her hand up and gave it to Umbridge, the short toad gave shocked gasp.

"I-I t-t-hink-k y-ours-s h-has s-sunk-k i-in," she stuttered, obviously overwhelmed and not expecting such a bloodied mess.

"Thank you, Professor. Here are my lines," Naru said as she gave her parchment to the shaking lady. "Have a good night, Professor Umbridge." With that, Harry and Naru left the room.

Together, they walked side by side to the Common Room. Naru stopped a few feet away from the Fat Lady and motioned for Harry to do as well.

"Harry, it would be in your best interest to not mention what happened in that room to anyone else, okay?"

Harry, though thoroughly confused, nodded, but he couldn't help but ask, "But, why?"

"The walls have ears," she stated simply, shaking her head. "Let's go." Now they fully entered the Common Room, meeting Ron and Hermione.

Naru bid good night and went off to bed, not wanting to disturb them, but she wasn't a bad guard. She secretly left a shadow clone to watch over the three from the shadows of the room before heading off to bed to think over what had happened.

She made sure everyone was asleep before she took out a piece of parchment and a pen. Composing her first report of the mission, Naru made it simple and in code incase it were to be intercepted.

Satified with the final result, Naru summoned a messenger toad and told it who to give the letter to, mentioning it's SS-ranking. The toad saluted her quietly, realizing that she is being silent for a reason, and left this dimension without a sound.

The next morning, Naru dispelled her shadow clone and learned that Ron has been sneaking out again. She knew that he liked to go practice even though it's against the rules. But one thing that made her kind of angry was how Harry told Ron. And then now Ron will tell Hermione. Who knows what will happen after thought. It wasn't that Naru doesn't want Umbridge to be given justice, it's just that her justice has to be well planned and very spontaneous. It can't happen when she and the entire school is waiting for it to come.

The rest of the week was more boringness, but Friday, Harry and Naru had another detention scheduled for five o'clock. They made their way down together and knocked on the door. The pinkness of the room was impossible to adjust to. Harry was sour because he was missing Quiddich tryouts for this detention.

They proceeded to do the exact same thing they did last time. Naru wrote extra fast again to make Umbridge squirm. She even wrote with both hands, giving Umbridge double the wonderful view. It was so fun to play with her since Naru hated her so much. It was even funnier because the torture device doesn't hurt and Naru hardly ever scars. She at least doesn't scar from just petty little instruments. Only a high rank destruction jutsu can leave a mark on her almost perfect skin.

As Harry gave the pink lady his parchment, he jerked away as if her touch burned him. This concerned Naru because if Umbridge is further torturing him, she'll have to do something. She was distracted by Harry fast walking out of the room.

In the corridor, Naru turned to him as if asking him what happened. Harry shook her off, telling her it was nothing. She nodded and sighed, knowing that she'll find out one way or another.

Naru found out that Harry's scar was hurting. That only happened when he was near Voldemort or when Voldemort's emotions were wild, so that means that Umbridge might be connected to the Dark Lord. But then again, this whole thing could be one big coincidence. He could've touched Umbridge at the exact moment that Voldemort felt something.

Another piece of information Naru picked up was that Harry is exchanging letter with Sirius Black, his godfather. Although sweet, it's extremely risky and stupid. But it wasn't very important, so Naru let it be.

The next morning, Naru and Hermione met Harry and Ron in the Great Hall for breakfast. The owls came in to deliver letters, etc. to the students, including copies of The Daily Prophet. Hermione took her copy and read an article about how Sturgis Podmore was sentenced to six months in Azkaban because he tried to get through a top security door.

Naru recognized that name. He was apart of the Order, which meant that he was doing Order business. Dumbledore mentioned a bit about what the Order was doing. The "top security door" was probably to enter the Hall of Mysteries. Thought what that is, Naru does not know.

Naru watched from the bleachers as the Gryffindor Quiddich team practiced. She was surprised to see the twins there, not knowing that they played the sport in the first place.

After practice, everyone was sweaty and tired. Naru made her way back to the Common Room whilst leaving a shadow clone to follow Harry. She sat on one of the comfortable couches by the fire and started her homework. Halfway through, she was interrupted by a head on her lap and an arm around her shoulders.

"Can I help you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

The head on her lap, Fred, sighed and then said, "Not really, we're just tired."

They both yawned and then cuddled closer to her. Naru shrugged, letting them sleep. She didn't care anyway since they were not preventing her from doing her mission. She continued to read, resting the book on Fred's shoulder and letting her head fall into the crook of Geroge's neck. She soon forgot about her book and admired their sleeping faces.

They were so peaceful and looked so much younger, like the little boys they were at heart. Naru admired the light freckles on Fred's face and the way his face scrunched up whenever he breathed in. She noted the warmth she felt from the simple arm that rested around her shoulders. Naru even felt a weird feeling in her stomach as she slightly blushed.

Not wanting to dwell upon these thoughts further, Naru set her book down and let sleep over take her body.

The next morning found Naru with her head on something hard and something on her stomach. She tensed immdiately before remember where she was. She looked up to meet the sleeping face of George and then looked to down to see the top of Fred's ginger head resting on her stomach.

She was sandwiched inbetween them and could not move without waking them. That doesn't mean that she didn't try.

Naru lifted her head slowly and then just started to lift her torso when she heard groaning. Freezing, she looked down at Fred. He didn't say or do anything so she continued moving. She then put her hands under his head, intent on picking it up and resting it on his brother's leg, but he woke up.

His eyes opened blearily as he looked around. Naru left his head go, letting it rest on her stomach as she leaned back a bit, her back on George's chest.

"Wha- Naru?" he looked so lost and confused. It was honestly adorable. "Why are we in the Common Room?"

"We fell asleep on the couch," she said simply.

He nodded, fell back asleep, and Naru was about to wake him up again when she had a wicked idea. This is the perfect time for pay back for the first day. Naru summoned a shadow clone to commence her plan.

* * *

Harry was tired. He hated Umbridge, the Ministry, and Dumbledore. All he wanted was to curl up into a small ball and be forgotten. He wanted to be out of the limelight. Dumbledore was supposed to help him through all this, but now even he turned his back. All Harry has now are his friends. Hermione was keeping him together logically and Ron is his best guy friend. Now even Naru is beginning to show him that she cares. She is a bit of an independent, standoffish person, but that doesn't mean she can't have friends either. Harry was grateful for his friends, but all bad things being said about and done to him have just ruined his year when it barely started. He sighed, not wanting to think about it. He just wanted breakfast right now.

Harry put his robes on and turned to Ron who had just done the same. "Ready?" he asked him.

"Yeah, let's eat. I'm starving," Ron said. They walked down the staircase together and turned towards the exit when they stopped and stared at the sight before them.

Fred and George were on the couch... on top of each other, Fred's head resting on George's chest. Their hands were interlocked and then a handcuff held their wrists together. Empty bottles of various alcoholic drinks littered the floor before them.

How they got those drinks, Harry wasn't sure, but it really did make an interesting sight. He looked at Ron who looked disgusted.

"What the hell?" he shouted. Fred jumped and sat up, knocking George off the couch, which then pulled him down because of their handcuffed wrists.

His face scrunched up in concentration. "Wha-"

George then groaned, cutting him off. Fred's face then turned to one of surprise. "WHAT TH-"

"WHAT THE HELL?" George cried. "GET OFF ME"

"I CANT!" Fred shouted back.

"WHY?"

"BECAUSE MY HAND IS HANDCUFFED TO YOURS AND YOU KEEP PULLING ME INTO YOU!"

"OH YEAH?"

"YEAH!"

"WELL YOU'RE A..."

Naru watched from the shadows, amused. It seems her little plan worked and she kept momentos. She smirked whilst holding a stack of small pieces of paper.

Breakfast time, she thought to herself.

* * *

Naru was eating a pancake when they entered. All the Gryffindors and some students from other Houses turned to look at them. They were no longer handcuffed, but they looked furious.

The twins stalked their way to the Gryffindor table and sat next to Naru. " Morning," they said.

Before anyone could reply, Fred spoke. "So Naru, nice day isn't it. Yes last night was nice too. I slept like a baby. Yes, but this morning I woke up to the most interesting thing."

George looked at Naru knowingly. "Yeah, interesting."

Naru looked at the two next to her, letting her ninja skills come to use. Her face remained impassive as she took another pancake. "Interesting, was it?" She poured some syrup on the pancake.

"You wouldn't, I don't know, know who had to do with the... interesting thing?"

Naru cut her pancake into eight small squares. "Hm," she said, thinking. She took a piece of pancake and ate it, chewing slowly. "I do not think I do." Taking another piece, she did the same.

George looked at her trying to find anything that would give her away. "Well, whoever it was better wa-"

"-but I do have these," Naru said, cutting in and holding up an envelope.

Fred panicking asked, "What are those?"

Naru smirked before eating another piece of her pancake. "That is for me to know and you to wish you will never find out because once you do..." Naru bit into another piece.

"Like... blackmail?" Geroge asked, sweating slightly.

Another piece of pancake was eaten. "Hm... is that word you would use?" She pondered on the though before eating a cut square of her pancake.

"Are they pictures of today?" Fred asked? Naru chewed another piece. "Because everyone's seen that anyways."

George smiled and nodded his head, hope filling his eyes.

"Maybe, maybe not." She ate another piece of pancake, chewing excruciatingly slow.

George's smile disappeared. "What do you mea-"

"-What a lovely chat. We should do this again sometime." With that, Naru walked out of the cafeteria with a skip in her step.

That night, Sirius decided to visit the Common Room via fireplace. Harry spotted him and he, Ron, and Hermione hurried to him, wondering what he was doing. Naru stayed hidden in the shadows, listening to their conversation.

They spoke about Umbridge and her connection to the Ministry, what the Ministry wants, and finally, the Order. All Naru learned was that Fudge, the minister, thinks that Dumbledore will build an army out of the students and the overthrow him. Fudge is so stupid to come up with such an idiotic thought.

The morning came, and with it cam the news about Umbridge being appointed the first ever High Inquisitor. Naru thought it was all a load of bull. The Ministery is obviously corrupt and dumb

Their first class was History of Magic and then Potions. In Potions, Snape gave the class a mock O.W.L. grade based on their moonstone essays. Naru could see a D on Harry's paper as it was given to him. She noticed how he quickly slid it into his stuff, not letting anyone else see it.

Snape passed by her table and layer her paper in front of her. She received an O.

I think that means Outstanding, Naru pondered.

After double Potions, the four made their way to lunch. Already sitting there were Fred and George. Naru slid into the seat beside Fred and proceeded to take an apple from the array of food.

Hermione began listing O.W.L. grades, "So there's O for 'Outstanding', which is the top grade," she began. "And then there's A fo-"

"-No," George said, receiving a bewildered look from Hermione. "E for 'Exceeds Expectations' would be next."

"George and I should've got an E in everything because we always exceeded expectations just by coming to take the exams," Fred added, making everyone at the table laugh. Naru didn't laugh, though she did let a small smile show.

"Okay," Hermione said, not laughing, either. "So after E is A, which is 'Acceptable' and that's the last pass grade, right?"

"Yep," Fred said in affirmative.

Ron then opted to join in the conversation. "Then you get P for 'Poor' and D for 'Dreadful.'"

"Don't forget T," George added.

"T?" Hermione asked in confusion. "There is something even lower than a D?"

"Troll," George said. The whole table laughed, except for Naru, who once again only smiled.

"Have you had an inspected lesson yet?" Fred asked.

They shook their heads. Naru then asked, "Have you?" Fred turned to her and he nodded. "What was it like?"

"Well, it wasn't too bad. Umbridge was just in the corner taking notes on a clipboard. And Flitwick just treated her like a guest. She didn't bother him, though, only asked Alicia what classes are normally like. She said they were really good and that was it.

"Who've you got this afternoon?" George asked her.

"Trelawney," she replied with an eye roll.

Fred laughed. "Yeah, she is kind of an old coot." Naru couldn't help but agree.

When they arrived to Divination, Umbridge was spotted in the back corner, her hawk-like eyes sweeping across the room. The rest of the class was spent with Umbridge put Trelawney on the spot. Although Naru didn't like her, she did feel bad for her when Umbridge basically insulted and embarrassed her in front of the class.

The next class was taught by the devil herself. Harry went ahead and got himself another detention, making Naru want to bash his head several times against a wall and then Rasengan his ass. She decided that this time she will watch from the shadows instead of landing in detention with the idiot.

The next few days were entertaining, but quite boring. Umbridge was becoming a mere annoyance to Naru and her mission. Yes, she does carry information about the Ministry, but the Ministry isn't her enemy. She needs to watch out for Voldemort and, more importantly, Orochimaru.

Naru was sitting by the fire "finishing homework" when she decided everyone was sleeping. She got up from her chair, stretching her muscles and set some shadow clones around the castle to guard.

Yesterday she sent another report, adding in as much information as she could. The problem is that she is pretty much still in the dark when it comes to her actual enemy.

Why is Orochimaru here? What is it that he wants with the Magical world? she asked herself. Nothing makes sense.

Naru made her way to Dumbledore's office for the meeting they had scheduled. She needed answers and Dumbledore will give them to her.

Arriving at the twin statues, Naru said the word "Nougat" and they moved to the side. Once at the door, she knocked twice. A small "come in" was heard and she opened the door to the magical office of the Headmaster.

"Dumbledore," she said in greeting. He smiled and greeted her back. "I have many questions that I need answers to."

Dumbledore's eye twinkled. "I am aware, but I regret to inform you that there is much I cannot say." Naru nodded in understand although slightly annoyed.

"I want to learn about deadly snakes," Naru stated in code.

"Ah, yes," the old man began. "Well, there are many kinds, but snakes can be very deadly in fact, so deadly that you can die before even realizing it when in confrontation with some. You must be careful around those ones because they can sneak up on you when you least expect it. You must always be on guard. That is really all I can say about snakes and reptiles for now."

Annoyed that she didn't learn anything new, Naru looked at him with a dead panned look. "Ok, well I found interest in toads as well, and I would to tell you that some toads are still killing one too many flies."

Dumbledore nodded in understanding, knowing of the "toad's" way after I sent him a letter the other day explaining what has happened. I told him to burn as soon as he read it to avoid anyone else reading it.

"Thank you, Ms. Uzumaki. That was a very fruitful talk," he said whilst smiling up at her. Naru could tell he was thinking about his next move judging by the way his eyes were slightly out of focus.

She smiled politely and bid good night. Naru stealthily made her way back to the girls' dorm in the Gryffindor Common room and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Students were allowed to go to Hogsmeade for the weekend. Naru soon found out about the plans of the trio to meet anyone who was interested in learning DADA outside of class at Hogs Head. What these wizards' obsession with pigs is about, Naru did not know.

Once there, Naru could tell that the man wrapped in many bandages was not there to have a butter beer. He was spying on their meeting. Naru could only guess he was going to report to the only person dumb enough to care: Umbridge. Because of this, Naru really didn't care about him, but she did make sure to keep an eye on him at all times, incase he tried to do something about the meeting.

Once everyone arrived, Harry gave a brief speech, firing people up about this class. Naru smiled. Good for him. After signing her name, Naru exited the pub and followed everyone back to the castle.

The following morning Naru was not surprised to see a new decree made by the High Inquisitor.

All Student Organizations, Societies, Teams, and Groups are henceforth disbanded.

Of course, Naru thought. But I doubt this will stop those three. They never take no for an answer.

She was making her way to the Great Hall when she ran into Tweedledee and Tweedledum. "Good morning, dear Naru," Geroge said happily. She quirked an eyebrow.

"Aren't mad about the new decree?"

His smile fell momentarily. "Well, yeah..." Then it came back full blast. "But there are things to smile about!"

"Oh yeah?"

"The birds, the blue sky, the prank we are going to pull on Umbridge, and you know, stuff," Fred added with a smirk.

"Oh yeah... the sky is something to smile about," Naru replied nonchantly.

"We are planning for it on the day we leave," George said. They all ended up stopping right next to the entrance to the Hall, speaking in hushed tones.

"So the last day of school?"

Fred smiled happily. "No, we are planning to leave a little bit before that."

Naru frowned, confusing the twins. "You're leaving school early? Where are you going?"

"We're opening our own joke shop!" George said, trying to lighten the mood. "You know, you can always visit us if you want, Naru," he said, smiling.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, wonderful. So what's this prank?" The twins had matching grins.

"Oh, well, we were hoping you could help us with that," Fred said.

To anyone looking at their group from a distance, they would see they all had the same micschevious glint in their eyes, something many have come to fear.


End file.
